


Dimensional Couples

by TheObscureFluffs (TearsAndFlowers)



Category: Sonic Boom (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Dimension, Dimension Travel, F/M, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-22
Updated: 2017-01-22
Packaged: 2018-09-19 02:30:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,799
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9414095
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TearsAndFlowers/pseuds/TheObscureFluffs
Summary: When something goes wrong with Tails' latest invention, the alternate dimension versions of Sonic and Sticks are stuck in the main dimension for a while. Having been dating for a while now, they easily recognize the signs of a crush--and when someone is too shy to admit it.(Sonknux and Alt!Sonicks story)





	

**Author's Note:**

> Similar to ["Love, Kisses, and Cooking"](http://archiveofourown.org/works/9414194), this story is partly based on the continuity of [one of my RP blogs](http://ask-alt-boom-sonic.tumblr.com/). (I also personally like to consider this to take place in the same timeline.)

"Behold!"

Tails gestured over to a large machine standing in front of the wall of his lab, looking quite proud of himself.

"With this machine, I'll be able to connect back to the dimension that the alternate dimension Knuckles was from!"

"Really?" Sonic asked, raising a skeptical brow.

"I wouldn't trust it," Sticks said, pointing accusingly at the machine. "What if you summon aliens? Or the government? Or the... _alien government!?_ "

"Down, Sticks." Amy waved a hand dismissively. "Tails knows what he's doing! ...Probably."

Tails squinted. "Your confidence in me is simply staggering."

"Oooh!" Knuckles' interest was caught. "I hope it _does_ work; it would be cool to see the other me again! Hey, I wonder what you guys are like in that dimension..."

"Huh; never really thought about it," Sonic said, Knuckles' interest rubbing off on him.

Tails stared back at his machine, then started typing a few keys in. The screen lit up, and the machine began to make some rather strange noises, causing Sticks to hide behind Amy.

It seemed to take a while, but a portal finally started forming in the middle of the room. The gang stepped back warily, as it began to vibrate rapidly.

Tails watched his machine carefully, seeing that it was starting to smoke. "U-uh oh!"

The portal expanded suddenly, two blurs of blue and orange being thrown out of it and falling to the floor before the portal dissipated completely.

Then, an explosion, coming right from Tails' machine, filling the room with smoke and some dust.

Sonic dashed over to the window, opening it to let the smoke out, then stared at what had come out of the portal with the rest of the gang.

It was unmistakably Sonic and Sticks, though with only the slightest visual differences to tell them apart from the ones in this dimension. The were lying face-down on the floor, the alternate Sonic's hand over the alternate Sticks' back.

Had Tails really summoned the Sonic and Sticks from the alternate dimension?

"U-ugh..." the Sonic groaned, moving his hand to his head as he sat up. "W-what happened? Did I trip?"

The alternate Sticks sat up as well.

"I-I don't know...are you alright, though?"

She hadn't noticed her surroundings at first, her focus being her Sonic's well-being. But the second she looked up, she realized that something was _definitely_ wrong here.

"Wait...are there... _two of you_...?!"

The alternate Sonic blinked, staring at his double, then started looking around the room.

"There are two of you as well," he said, pointing up at the ceiling, where Sticks was hanging.

"An alien clone! She's come to haunt me! _I knew it!_ " the crazy badger released the ceiling and let out a shrill yell, fleeing and breaking through the wall.

The other Sticks stared at the cartoonish badger-shaped hole her double had just made in the wall, obviously very confused.

"...why is the other me acting like Tails?"

"H- _hey!_ " Tails whined, running over to where Sticks had burst through the wall. "I didn't need another hole in my wall..." He looked sadly at the gigantic hole the explosion had left, then sighed and walked up to the two alternates.

"In any case, hey there! You probably know who I am, so I'll just explain; I made a dimensional portal to contact a dimension that a Knuckles who had accidentally found his way to us was from. I wasn't expecting it to go so badly, but it looks like it worked since you're here! Though, it didn't go at all like I wanted, so I'm sorry for that."

The alternate Sonic mused over his words. "O-oh, hm... I-I remember Knuckles talking about that." He stared at his double. _So this is the Sonic he wanted me to be like..._

" _Ohhh_ , I see..." the alternate Sticks said, satisfied with that explanation. "You know...ever since Knuckles told us he'd been to another dimension, I've been very curious to see what it was like..."

"Well now you can!" this dimension's Knuckles replied, barely containing his excitement at meeting the alternates. "Oh yeah, I'm Knuckles, by the way! Though I guess you already knew that, huh?"

The alternate Sonic blinked, surprised at how... different, Knuckles sounded from the one he knew. He got up, pulling the alternate Sticks to him as well, then wrapped an arm around her waist. "Y-yeah, we could figure, heh."

He looked over at Tails. "So... we can't go back for right now?" One didn't have to be a genius to realize that the blown-up machine had likely been the one to place them in this dimension.

Tails nodded and sighed. "Yes, but I should be able to fix it soon enough! Is it okay if you two stick around for a while?"

"It's alright with me!" alternate Sticks said, an excited gleam in her eyes.

She glanced over at her Sonic. "Will you be okay with that?"

He smiled fondly at her. "Mhm, of course! I-it's... kind of exciting, actually."

Tails nodded. "Anyway, I have to stick around here to starting fixing my machine. Amy, do you mind staying here to help me clean up?"

Amy shrugged in response. "Not at all!" This dimension's Sonic wondered if maybe she was doing so since she felt bad for insulting him earlier.

He looked back to the two alternates. "I guess that leaves me and Knuckles then if you wanna go look around with us." He side-glanced to the echidna. "That cool with you, Knux?"

 _'Knux'?_ The alternate Sonic found it interesting that the two were on such terms.

Knuckles grinned. "Yeah, totally!"

The alternate Sonic leaned over to Sticks. "He really _is_ different, just like our Knuckles said..."

The alternate Sticks nodded in agreement, smiling softly. She already liked this more cheerful and friendlier Knuckles; his child-like excitement reminded her a little of the Sonic standing next to her.

This dimension's Sonic turned away, then headed out. "Let's go then, Knux!"

The alternate Sonic took his Sticks' hand, then followed him.

The hand-holding didn't go unnoticed by Knuckles. He raised a brow, but said nothing. _I wonder...?_

As the two alternates walked along, hands held tightly together, this dimension's Sonic glanced over at Knuckles.

"What's up? You've got your thinking face on." He seemed amused.

"Hm? Oh, nothing, just..." The echidna nodded towards the newcomers, trying to get Sonic to notice what they were doing.

"Do you think they're...?" he whispered.

"They're... what?" He seemed oblivious, glancing back to see the two holding hands.

"Mm... they're definitely closer than me and Sticks are here. What, you think they're more than that?"

Knuckles shrugged uncertainly. "I dunno, maybe?"

Sonic chuckled. "Well... they do look happy." His smile lessened slightly; he felt jealous.

Knuckles said nothing else as they walked; he became lost in his thoughts once more.

 _He's getting all quiet..._ Sonic thought. It was unusual for Knuckles to be like that, so he was mildly concerned. Then again, it was always a mystery to him what Knuckles was thinking. Not that he was good at this stuff, mind you.

"So where exactly are we going first?" the alternate Sticks asked.

"We could go to Meh Burger?" Sonic suggested. "If you're hungry, I mean."

"Meh Burger?" his alternate questioned, blinking.

Knuckles looked up in shock. "You guys don't have Meh Burger?!"

"Perhaps it's this dimension's version of Hem Burger?" alternate Sticks suggested.

"Hem Burger?" The less-bandaged Sonic asked, an amused smile on his face. "What, are all the tables covered in fabric or something?"

"Y-yes, actually," the alternate Sonic admitted, not sure if he should feel awkward or not.

 _Aaaaand there goes my comeback,_ the other Sonic thought, hanging his head for a moment.

The alternate raised his finger. "It's a plate that promotes eating fancier versions of fast food. Instead of regular fries, they'd give you sweet potato fries." He chuckled sheepishly. "But I'm pretty sure it's just as unhealthy; you just don't feel as bad eating it!"

"Heh, sounds like the total opposite of Meh Burger!" Knuckles chuckled.

"Sounds like I'll have a lot of calories to burn off when we get home..." alternate Sticks murmured.

The alternate Sonic nudged her with a small smile. "Hey, you'll burn them off with me. Besides, we can just get something small here and then make something really yummy whenever we can find some ingredients around here!"

"You... cook?" the other Sonic asked, brow raised so high you'd think it was about to fly off his head.

The alternate nodded in response, prompting Sonic to nudge Knuckles with a questionable gaze. "Hey, we sure that they're not actually aliens?"

Knuckles looked a little confused. "I dunno, do alternate dimension people count as aliens...?"

"Ah... never mind." He shrugged and chuckled weakly, seeing that Knuckles didn't get it, then led everyone up to Meh Burger, getting into the line.

* * *

Meanwhile, Doctor Eggman was sitting in his lair, chuckling evilly.

"Alright, time to put my plan into action!"

He cued up the live video feed from his hidden camera bots. "Let's see now, where is that blue rodent...ah, there he--is...?"

He rubbed his eyes, wondering if he was seeing things, but the sight before him didn't change.

He stared in horrified silence at the two Sonics on his screen.

Orbot floated along the floor, staring at the doctor. "Um... Doctor Eggman? What's the matter?"

He glanced over at the video feed. "Oh! I wonder if Tails found some sort of way to duplicate Sonic?"

Cubot followed Orbot's gaze. "Or maybe there's a valley of Sonic, just like there was a valley of me!"

Orbot smacked him gently. "Sonic isn't a robot!"

He looked back up at Eggman. "So, what are you going to do about this, sir?"

Eggman didn't respond at first.

"...I'm going to bed."

He suddenly stood up and began walking away from the screen. "Wake me up when this nightmare is over."

"Sir, it's the afternoon," Orbot interjected.

"Yeah, and you can't have a nightmare when you're not asleep!" Cubot said.

"NOPE, I'M ASLEEP!" Eggman shouted suddenly, startling the two robots. "I'M _SLEEPING_ , IT'S ALL JUST A _BAD DREAM_ , _LALALALALA!_ "

And with that, the traumatized Doctor ran into his bedroom and locked the door.

"...Oh dear."

* * *

"Classic burger and fries," Sonic chimed as he sat down at a table.

His alternate smiled sheepishly, sitting down on the opposite side so he could be next to Sticks, then took half of a fry in one bite, giving the rest to Sticks. "Want to give it a try?"

Sticks hesitated for a moment, but ended up giving in and eating the fry.

"It's so unhealthy...but it's so good..."

"Hmm... needs a bit of salt," he said softly. "And it was likely fried for way too long. Though, it seems like it's whoever cooked's fault, as it seems fresh enough; just poorly handled."

"Hm..." Sticks became thoughtful. "I suppose that's another thing we'll have to try making ourselves sometime..."

This dimension's Sonic watched his alternate with an amused expression. "Heh, didn’t know I could be so... food-savvy."

"Sticks and I just really enjoy cooking together!" the alternate exclaimed.

The other Sonic leaned over to Knuckles. "He's about as different to me as your alternate was to you!" He let out a small "hm" sound. "And hey... they even share food. You think...?"

"Yeah," Knuckles agreed, "I wonder..."

Sonic was too curious for his own good. "Hey, so... are you two together?"

"H-hm?" The alternate Sonic blushed ever-so-slightly. "Y-yeah, we are. We've been together for a while now."

Sticks smiled affectionately at him, putting an arm around him and resting her hand on his shoulder.

"What about you?" she asked this dimension's Sonic curiously. "Do you or Knuckles have a special someone in this dimension?"

Knuckles blushed slightly, and he hoped that no one would notice. "N-nope, not me," he chuckled nervously.

It was subtle and easy to miss, but Sticks could've sworn she heard a hint of sadness in his tone...

Her boyfriend seemed to pick up on it just as quickly, if not more so.

"I don't have one either," the other Sonic admitted. "I've had... some clicks, but nothing's happened yet." He scratched his nose.

Knuckles became quiet again, staring blankly at his half-eaten burger. _I wonder...nah, he's probably not..._

The alternate Sonic watched Knuckles close, promptly giving Sticks a "look", knowing that she'd know what he meant with it.

Sticks nodded in understanding, knowing they were thinking the same thing.

The other Sonic looked between them, seeming confused. Could they really communicate just through looking at each other? Still, he tried not to stare too much, which would give himself away, so he finished up his food.

Soon everyone else had finished too--except for Knuckles, who suddenly wasn't feeling hungry anymore...

"Knuckles?" Sonic asked. "It's not like you to not eat..."

"Hm?" Knuckles had been lost in thought again. "O-oh, I-I guess I'm just not hungry today," he said with a nervous chuckle.

Sonic frowned in response. "You sure? You seemed fine earlier."

"Y-yeah, I'm fine," Knuckles replied unconvincingly.

"You're a terrible liar," Sonic said with a roll of his eyes.

"A-am I?" Knuckles asked sheepishly. "I-I'll be fine though, don't worry about me. 'Sides, we've got guests to show around!"

"Guess so." Sonic didn't buy it for one second, but didn't feel like pushing him would do anything; if Knuckles didn't trust him, then it wasn't his problem.

...Still.

As the group got ready to continue their walk around the village, Knuckles tried his best to ignore the sinking feeling in his chest...

Sticks was worried about him, but she knew she couldn't really do anything right now. She and her boyfriend had a plan, though, and they would go through with it first chance they got.

Said boyfriend watched Knuckles' movements warily. The echidna had the subtlety of an egotist and it wasn't hard to tell what he was thinking. He wondered if his alternate was really so oblivious or if he was just ignoring it.

Knuckles was glad for the distraction as he and Sonic showed their guests around the island; and despite his mood, he couldn't help but be curious, asking lots of questions about the other dimension, which the alternates were more than happy to answer.

The alternate Sonic found himself very entertained by Knuckles' curiosity, especially considering how unexcitable the Knuckles he knew was. Still, he could tell that not even the distraction of it all was working for him.

The other Sonic then led them all back to his shack, where he sat down and started sorting through his games. "So, would you guys like to play something?"

"What sort of games do you have?" Sticks asked curiously, wondering how similar or different it was from her boyfriend's collection back home.

"Uh... fighting games, shooters, things like that; any sort of action games, really."

The alternate Sonic grinned sheepishly. "So basically, the exact opposite of me," he murmured to himself, knowing that he was doomed to be last place in these games.

"I'm more into puzzle games myself," Sticks replied. "Though I suppose I can make an exception every now and then..."

"Mm? Didn't expect that," the other Sonic said. "At least from our Sticks. You're way different."

"It would seem so!" Sticks replied with a chuckle. "From what I could tell, your Sticks acts a lot more like our Tails!"

"Really?" Sonic snorted. "Can't imagine that. Our Tails would probably be super weirded out to see your Tails."

"Imagine my confusion when I saw my own counterpart!" Sticks said with a laugh.

"I was confused too," Sonic said, staring at his own counterpart, who blushed sheepishly.

"I-I didn't think you'd be so unlike me either!"

"What about you, Knuckles?" Sticks asked, turning to the red echidna, who had been unusually quiet the whole time.

"Hm?" Knuckles looked up. "Oh, yeah! The other me was totally different! I thought he was pretty cool--well, at first anyway...looking back, he was kind of a jerk."

The echidna chuckled nervously. "U-um, please don't tell him I said that..."

The alternate Sonic looked away, saying nothing.

"Yeah, he seemed all right at first, but then he had this whole policy about stealing Eggman's machine and... ugh," the main Sonic said with a roll of his eyes.

"Sounds about right," Sticks said, shaking her head.

"So he acts like a jerk around you guys too?" the main Sonic questioned. "I'm kinda surprised. I thought that maybe it was just because he wanted to get back to his world."

"Nope, unfortunately he's like that back home too," Sticks replied.

"And you guys have to deal with that? All the time?!" he asked.

His alternate shrugged. "Y-you, um... kinda get used to it after a while... kinda."

Sticks gave him a light pat on the shoulder comfortingly.

"So," she said with a cough, figuring it was best to change the subject. "Shall we find a game to play?"

"Oh, uh, yeah, yeah," this dimension's Sonic agreed, shifting through games. He tried his best to find something simple that everyone could play where it'd be at least decently fair; he'd have an obvious advantage, but he'd go easy on them... just not _too_ easy.

"How's this?" he held up the case so everyone could see.

"I trust your judgement," Sticks said with a smile.

"Huh?" Knuckles looked up. "O-oh, yeah, that's a good one!"

His alternate agreeing with him also, Sonic smiled and put the game in the console. Everyone got a controller, and the game started.

"Mind if we team up, Knux?" he asked, smirking at the echidna.

Knuckles hoped Sonic didn't notice the small blush forming on his face. "H-hehe, sure!"

"If that's the case, you two are so going down!" Sonic said, addressing Sticks and his double.

Said double gave a sheepish smile. "Even if I had teamed up with you, I might've ended up making you lose!"

"Oh, I think you underestimate yourself!" Sticks said to him. "Besides, you're much better at these kinds of games than I am," she added, chuckling sheepishly.

He blushed. "M-maybe, but you could solve a puzzle game a million times faster than I could and you know it! Those things just give me a headache!"

"Well, perhaps our combined skills will give us a better chance," Sticks said with a wink. "But win or lose, let's just try to have fun, okay?"

He nodded, even hooking his arm with Sticks' as they played.

"Let's show them we mean business, Knuckles!" the clearly-much-less-romantic Sonic exclaimed to his partner, tapping at the controls in rapid fashion to show that he really knew what he was doing.

Knuckles grinned, nodding in agreement.

He focused on the game best he could, though sometimes his mind wandered, causing him to slip up. Despite that however, he and Sonic still made an excellent team. And for a moment, he forgot everything else; as far as he was concerned, it was just him having fun with the hedgehog that he lo--

Oops. There he went again.

His crush could tell that he wasn't playing at his best, though he felt unsure about if it was on purpose or not. He checked his alternate and Sticks to ensure that they weren't looking, then leaned over to Knuckles.

"Don't go _too_ easy on them, bud."

Knuckles blushed, feeling a bit embarrassed. He just couldn't seem to focus today. "H-heh, I know."

"You know? Knux, is everything cool? You've been acting weird for a while now."

"H-have I?" Knuckles asked, trying (and failing) to sound casual.

" _Yyyyyeah_ , you have. If you don't want to talk to me about it, all you have to do is say so." Though he sounded a bit hurt when he said it.

Knuckles bit his lip, feeling bad for not being able to tell Sonic what was on his mind. "I-I just...can't talk about it right now..." he said quietly.

Sonic hardened his stare, but shrugged and sighed. "Fine."

He turned back to the game, only to realize that his lack of focus had caused him to lose. "A-aw, no way! We almost had you!"

His alternate grinned a bit. "We're sorry."

"You are not."

"And you thought you'd lose," Sticks said to her Sonic, grinning playfully.

"O-oh, heh, nice one guys!" Knuckles blushed sheepishly. "You totally beat us..."

Sticks frowned in concern, wordlessly glancing at her Sonic.

He glanced back, fully understanding her.

"I wasn't at my best!" the other Sonic said. "I got distracted, let's go again!"

"Shall we have another go then?" Sticks asked.

The alternate Sonic nodded. "That's okay with me!"

The four continued playing for a while longer, until a plan was decided to be put into action.

"Hey, ahhh... Knuckles?" the alternate Sonic called, looking over at the echidna. "Can you hang out with me for a moment... outside?"

"Huh? Uh, sure..." Knuckles replied.

He nodded and took Knuckles outside, while this dimension's Sonic remained inside with Sticks.

"Uh... is somethin' up?"

"That's what I want to know," Sticks said. "I noticed you were a little distracted while we were playing...is everything alright?"

"Huh?" he asked. "Oh, no, I uh... I was checking on Knuckles, actually. He's the one who seems distracted," he said, looking somewhat bitter at the fact.

\---

"Okay, so um... you don't want me calling you 'Knux' or anything, right?" the alternate Sonic asked, wanting to both confirm a suspicion and be polite.

"Yeah, sorry," Knuckles chuckled nervously. "I-it's just kinda special when Sonic--uh, the other Sonic--calls me that, you know?"

"It's fine. I was just making sure," he said. "So... that Sonic is special to you?"

Knuckles blushed a little. "Y-yeah, I guess?"

Sonic grinned. "Oh yeah? How special exactly, if you don't mind me asking?"

"W-well, um..." Knuckles stammered. "Y-you know, he's a really good friend and stuff," he responded, speaking a little too quickly.

"Really?" he asked, tone clear that he didn't believe him fully.

"Y-yeah, really..." Knuckles cleared his throat awkwardly. "So, um, what did you wanna come out here for?"

"What we were just talking about," Sonic replied matter-of-factly.

"Huh?" Knuckles raised a brow. "What do you mean?"

"I want to ask you about you and Sonic; er, the other Sonic."

"Wh-what about me and Sonic?"

"Well, I mean... to be honest, you remind me a bit of me, you know?" He placed a hand on his own cheek. "And you've been making... certain faces that kind of..." He tried to think of how to phrase it. "...remind me of how I look at Sticks?"

Knuckles blushed. "I-I have?"

"Don't tell me you're really not sure if you feel that way?" Sonic asked, dumbstruck at the idea; sure, he was pretty oblivious in the past too, but not like _that_.

"W-well, um..." Knuckles bit his lip nervously.

After a moment of hesitation, he sighed in defeat, gazing down at his shoes. "Alright, you got me. I...I like him...a-a _lot_..."

Sonic sat down, tilting his head. "And you haven't told him?"

Knuckles shook his head, sitting down next to him. "No, I haven't. I mean, what's the point? I don't think he's even _into_ other guys! So he'd probably just think I was weird, a-and..."

He sighed. "I just don't want it to mess things up between us, you know?"

Sonic frowned. "A-and I guess it doesn't help that I'm with a girl, right?"

Knuckles chuckled sadly. "I kinda figured that just proved what I was thinking. I mean, you're not the _same_ Sonic, but you're still Sonic, so..."

"B-but hold on!" Sonic protested, holding his hands up. "The Knuckles of my universe is in love with Amy, not me. Doesn't that mean anything?"

"Wait, really?" Knuckles was surprised. "Huh..." he added, becoming thoughtful.

"Yeah, so don't give up, okay?" Sonic felt as though it wouldn't be in his right to tell Knuckles that he thought the blue hedgehog liked him.

Knuckles sighed, but smiled softly. "O-okay."

He hesitated. "...you really think I might have a chance?" he asked hopefully.

"Sure!" Sonic exclaimed. "...But only if you're honest with yourself. Believe me, getting together with Sticks wasn't exactly smooth sailing, because I didn't believe in myself; I never thought she'd like me."

He smiled fondly. "Look at me now; I'm happier than I've ever been. Do you really want to keep your secret to yourself forever?"

Knuckles was silent for a moment.

"...no," he admitted. "But...w-what if he doesn't like me that way? What if he thinks I'm weird? What if it ruins our friendship? I just...I don't wanna lose him..."

Sonic looked at him seriously. "How would you describe him?"

"Oh, um..." Knuckles thought for a moment. "Well...he's funny, he's cool, he's kind, he's loyal, he's cu--"

The echidna slapped a hand over his mouth, face flushing in embarrassment.

Sonic giggled. "And if someone approached him and confessed that they loved him, do you think he'd rudely turn them away or get mad?"

Knuckles' eyes widened in realization. "No...you're right, he wouldn't."

"You're not giving yourself enough credit, Knuckles. If Sonic wouldn't do that to anyone else, why would he do that to you? Is there a chance he'd think it'd be weird? Maybe, but if you ask me, the worst-case scenario is that he doesn't return your feelings, but is extremely flattered that you feel that way!"

"You really think so?" Knuckles started to feel a little more hopeful. "Well, I hope you're right..."

Sonic nodded. "So, you feel better?"

Knuckles cracked a smile. "Yeah, a little. Thanks, I needed to hear that."

"And you promise to at least try?" he asked.

"...s-sure. I...I promise," Knuckles answered. While he was clearly still nervous, there was also a newfound determination in his eyes.

Sonic smiled, satisfied.

* * *

"Does that bother you?" Sticks asked this dimension's Sonic. "That he wasn't paying attention?"

Sonic shrugged. "He's always been a bit airheaded, but never _this_ much. I just..." His cheeks turned pink. "I just worry about him, you know?"

Sticks nodded. "You must really care about him."

"Y-yeah. Don't tell him I said that though," Sonic told her, embarrassed.

Sticks smiled knowingly. "Alright, I won't. _Aaaand_ I'll also be sure not to mention that you were blushing when you said that."

His ears perked at that. "H-hey!"

In a small burst of speed, he was right in Sticks' face. "What are you gettin' at, badger-girl?"

Sticks grinned at him. "Oh, nothing," she said calmly. "I just found that rather interesting, that's all."

" _Ahuh_ ," Sonic said disbelievingly. "Try again; I know that look. That is the look of someone who pretends not to know anything."

"So you're not denying it, then," the badger stated simply.

"Uh--!!" His muzzle turned a deep red, realizing he'd been caught. He flailed for a moment, grabbing hold of his neckerchief and trying to use it to cover his insanely large blush.

"...O-okay, here's how this is going to work. I am going to talk about whatever you want me to talk about, but you are going to retain none of it. When Knuckles comes back, you _heard_ nothing, you _know_ nothing, and most importantly, you _say_ nothing. Got it?"

Sticks nodded, still smiling. "Of course. But for now, I wanted to talk about you and Knuckles. You seem rather...fond of him."

Sonic's first instinct was to glance back and ensure that Knuckles was very far away from the conversation. Once he confirmed, he replied, "Yeah, and?"

"How deep would you say those feelings go?" Sticks asked. "Is he just a really good friend, or is there something more to it?"

"You're forward," Sonic stated, though mentally acknowledging that he wasn't one to talk. "...Look, maybe a little, okay? I'm just always concerned and feeling bad for him."

"I've noticed," Sticks replied. "And I've also noticed the way you look at him sometimes; it's the same look I give Sonic--my Sonic, I mean."

"Sometimes," Sonic emphasized. "And... let me guess; you want me to confess, right?"

"I won't tell you what to do; this is your choice to make. But, if you want my honest opinion: yes, I think you should tell him."

Sonic was silent for a moment. "And what happened when you confessed to your Sonic? Everything just... turned out okay? Just like that?"

"Well, it wasn't easy; I was really nervous," Sticks admitted. "It wasn't even all that romantic; it just sort of...happened. But yes, in the end, it did all work out, and I've never regretted it for a moment since.

"I'm not saying things will work out perfectly for you and Knuckles, but you won't know until you try. Besides, do you _really_ want to keep these feelings stuffed down forever?"

"It's not about that," Sonic stated simply. He tried to think of a way to phrase it, then held a hand up, raising one finger. "Let's pretend for a moment that me and Knuckles are 100% perfect for each other."

He raised a second finger. "Now let's pretend that I can actually be romantic if that's what he wants; I mean, he gets pretty emotional at romance movies, so we'll assume."

A third finger went up. "Now, let's pretend that my confession goes off without a hitch and that we're able to keep it steady."

He slammed his hand down on the floor. "All of that still means nothing if the villagers don't approve of Team Sonic's leader being about as straight as a crazy straw."

He paused, then sighed. "I mean, I could handle it; I'm used to getting disrespected every so often. It's Knuckles who couldn't. He looks all tough like nothing can hurt him, but I've seen him get upset over the littlest things. Even if he had my support, he'd still be torn up once they started mocking him for dating me."

Sticks frowned sadly. "That is a possibility..."

She looked him in the eye. "But if you really loved each other, wouldn't it be worth it? And besides, neither of you would have to face it alone--no matter what, you'd always have each other, right?"

"That's not up to me," Sonic replied. "Like I said, that's on Knux, not me."

Sticks thought for a moment. "Let's put it this way: Would you rather keep your feelings hidden forever, taking the 'safe route' and never knowing what might've happened otherwise? Or are you willing to take a risk for the one you love?

"Besides, what's the worst that could happen? Even if he didn't return your feelings, I doubt that he'd think any less of you for it."

Sonic took a long time to respond, feeling like she completely missed the point. Still, he shrugged and gave it, just wanting the conversation over with.

"Okay."

"You'll give it a try, then?" Sticks asked.

Sonic waved her off. "Sure, sure." He knew he wouldn't get anywhere here.

"Alright then."

Sticks knew she wouldn't get any further with Sonic, so she let the conversation end; she just hoped that he would at least consider her advice.

It was then that Knuckles and the alternate Sonic re-entered the room. Said Sonic gave a wink to Sticks, knowing that she'd know it went well.

Sticks smiled, winking back. They'd done their part; now it was up to Sonic and Knuckles.

Suddenly though, an explosion went off in the distance. This dimension's Sonic jolted at attention, dashing outside, ears perked.

"...Eggman, of course," he stated with a sigh, his tone dull as this was a usual thing for him. "Sticks, other me, join in if you want, but Knux, you're with me no matter what, right?"

Knuckles blushed, but managed a grin. "Yup!"

Then in a softer tone, he added, "Always."

His Sonic grinned back, then held his hand and sped off.

The alternate Sonic smiled happily, then turned to Sticks. "Do we leave this up to them too, you think?"

Sticks nodded. "I think we should let this play out."

He nudged her playfully. "We can go sneak up and watch from a distance though, right?"

Sticks grinned. "I don't see why not!"

* * *

"Yo, Eggman!" Sonic shouted, running into the village. "Up to your..."

He paused, noticed that Orbot and Cubot were piloting the Egg Mobile instead. "Uh..."

They turned to the two heroes, the Egg Mobile slightly shaky in the process, as they weren't used to it. "We're here to, um..." Orbot's voice trailed off.

"Stop you once and for all!" Cubot finished.

"Yes! That!" Orbot added. "While Doctor Eggman is busy having his mental breakdown, we--" He glared at Cubot. "Or at least, one of us, promised to test out his new robot!"

Sonic blinked, not getting a single bit of that. "Uh... mental... breakdown?"

Before he could get a response, Sonic jumped and dashed out of the way, having still been holding Knuckles' hand, as the giant robot's arm came crashing down.

"Sorry," Orbot said, obviously not good at this ''villain'' thing. "We can't... really control him."

"I noticed!" Sonic yelled, not liking what a close call it was.

"Wait, I'm confused," Knuckles said. "Where's Eggm--LOOK OUT!"

He and Sonic managed to jump out of the way just before the robot tried to smash them again. He stood in front of Sonic protectively, glaring at their attacker.

"Hey, I was talking!"

"Someone's got a bad attitude," Sonic commented, glaring as well. He smirked to Knuckles. "Let's teach him a lesson."

The robot sparked off a bit of electricity, head twitching as its arm spazzed for a moment, breaking the roof off a nearby house. A villager fled from the house, trying to escape the robot.

Sonic's expression became a bit more worried. He patted Knuckles' arm, then dashed forward towards the robot. "And _fast!_ "

Knuckles followed, determined to help Sonic in any way he could--and make sure he didn't get hurt.

Reckless as always, Sonic curled into a spindash and rammed right for the robot, only to get smacked away, into a nearby cabbage stand.

He shook his head, eyes nearly bouncing around like they were in a pinball machine. "Okay. That didn't go exaaaactly as expected," he murmured, rubbing his head. Still, he got right back up and continued trying.

"Sonic, be careful!" Knuckles said with concern.

He charged towards the robot, jumping up and slamming both fists onto it. Unfortunately, this has no effect, only causing Knuckles to land on the ground with an "oof!".

"Knuckles! You okay?" Sonic called from the robot's other side. He glared up at the machine, charging a carefully-timed spindash and slamming into the robot's jaw. Its head jerked to the side, forcing out a few robotic bit and pieces of itself.

Sonic landed, feeling his confidence heighten that he'd done at least a little damage, but it faltered as he saw the robot glare at him.

"Oh boy..."

"L-look out!"

Just as the robot was about to crush Sonic, Knuckles jumped towards him and pushed him out of the way, knocking them both to the ground as the huge mechanical arm missed them by inches.

"Whoa!" Sonic let out a grunt as he collided with the ground.

He glared up at the robot, then placed a hand on Knuckles' shoulder. "Thanks, Knux. Now, we should lead him away from the village before he causes anymore damage."

"R-right," Knuckles replied, ignoring the warmness in his cheeks from being so close to Sonic.

He stood up slowly, then offered a hand to Sonic. "Shall we?" he asked with a grin.

Sonic stared at the hand for a moment, cheeks tinted pink, then grinned back and grabbed his hand. "Let's do it."

He smirked and looked up at the robot. "Hey, nuts and dolts! Come get us, we dare you!"

"Bet you can't catch us!" Knuckles taunted.

The robot seemed to fall for their game, immediately starting to go after them. Sonic dashed away, keeping Knuckles close.

They slowly lured him out of the village. Sonic glanced over to Knuckles with a concerned smile.

"Where do we stop?" He laughed weakly. "Because I... have no idea where we're going!"

"U-um..." Knuckles had no idea what to do either. Looking around frantically, he pointed in a random direction.

"Uh, this way! I think..."

Sonic felt that he didn't have time to ask if he was sure, racing in the pointed direction.

He stopped however, as he came across a familiar area; a lake covered in ice. Sonic almost immediately recalled two previous scenarios here; neither were pleasant.

Knuckles saw that Sonic had stopped. "Why did you st--ohhhh, right..." he said sheepishly, remembering Sonic's fear of water.

Then he heard the robot's heavy footsteps not too far away.

"That thing is gonna catch up with us any second now!" he said worriedly. "What do we do?"

Sonic sighed, releasing Knuckles' hand. "We'll just have to fight it here."

As the robot arrived, Sonic charged his spindash, aiming for the jaw once more. However, the robot opened its mouth, chomping down and trapping Sonic between his robotic teeth.

"O-ow, hey!"

"Sonic!" Knuckles gasped.

Then his face turned angry. "Hey, down here!" he yelled to the robot. "Yes, I'm talking to you!"

Without thinking, he ran out onto the ice. "Come and get me!"

The robot glared, then followed Knuckles out onto the ice. The moment it stepped onto it, the ice broke, causing it to fall inside.

Sonic panicked, squirming, but was taken down into the water with the robot.

"SONIC!"

Knuckles rushed over towards the robot just as it began to sink. Desperately, he punched at its head, trying to free its hedgehog captive before it was too late.

"A-argh, _LET GO OF MY SONIC!_ " he yelled in his panicked rage.

Short-circuiting, the robot began to break apart. Knuckles' last punch managed to break off its jaw, Sonic hurrying out, though landing in the water.

"Grab my hand, _GRAB MY HAND!!_ " he yelled in a panic, right arm flailing as his left hand reached out for Knuckles.

Knuckles grabbed his hand without hesitation.

"I've got you!" he said, as he started trying to pull Sonic out of the water.

Sonic squirmed, then clung to Knuckles' head like a frightened kitten as he came out.

"Okay, land, _LAND_ ," Sonic said with a shudder, wanting to be as far away from the water as possible.

Knuckles complied, quickly but carefully getting off the ice and back to safety.

Once they were back on land, Knuckles gently set Sonic down on the ground, though keeping his hands on his shoulders.

"You okay?" the echidna asked. "I...I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking; I almost got you...g-got you killed..."

Sonic shook for a moment longer, then nodded his head. "I...I'm fine..."

After a short pause, he clung to Knuckles once more, this time in a hug.

Knuckles let out a squeak of surprise. Blushing, he hugged back.

"I-I...I almost lost you..." he said quietly, his voice wavering.

"I'm fine," Sonic repeated. "Don't feel bad..."

"I-I'm sorry, I-I just..." Knuckles paused for a moment to choke back tears. "I-I never would've forgiven myself if something had happened to you...e-especially before I got to tell you that I love you..."

Sonic blinked. "Uh..."

Knuckles froze, suddenly realizing what he'd said. He quickly let go of Sonic and covered his face with his hands, his muzzle red with embarrassment.

"W-wait, I-I-I didn't mean to say that! _O-oh man_..."

Sonic slowly smiled, then started to laugh. "No no no! It's okay, bud!"

He put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "Heh, only you would make a confession like that after an epic battle."

Knuckles moved his hands a little, peeking out from under them.

"W-wait, y-you're...you're okay with this? W-with me...liking you like that?"

"Dunno." Sonic shrugged, then smiled wider. "Are YOU okay with me liking you like that?"

"Well yeah, that'd be--" Knuckles' eyes widened as he got Sonic's hint. "W-wait, you mean...?"

" _Diiiiid_ I stutter?" Sonic asked, obviously playing with him.

As Knuckles processed Sonic's words, a huge smile began to form on his face.

Suddenly, he threw his arms around Sonic, nuzzling him a little. "This is the best day of my life!"

"W-whoa whoa, easy!" He laughed. "That's where the robot bit me!"

"Oh, sorry," Knuckles said sheepishly. "Heh, that's not a sentence you hear everyday," he added with a chuckle, referring to Sonic's previous statement.

Sonic made a face at him, then frowned and turned slightly, a decently-sized mark along his back. "It's not bleeding or anything, is it?" he asked.

"No, you're fine," Knuckles assured him. "We should get you bandaged up though; I don't want you getting infected or whatever," he added with concern.

Sonic nodded, then began walking back with him. "...By the way, we should probably talk..."

"I-is something wrong?" Knuckles asked, suddenly a bit nervous.

"No no, just..." Sonic frowned. "You know that people might not approve, right?"

Knuckles gazed down at his shoes sadly. "Y-yeah, I know."

He grimaced as he added, "I've known that for a long time..."

But then he blushed, smiling softly. "...you're totally worth it, though. I...I'd rather be made fun of than not be with you, ya know?"

Sonic blushed, but tried to hide it underneath his neckerchief. "Y-you sure?"

"Well, yeah!" Knuckles responded. "T-to be honest, I-I've never been more sure of anything else in my whole life," he admitted, his blush darkening.

 _Geez, when did I get so sappy?_ he thought, chuckling inwardly.

Sonic blushed deeper. "K-Knux, you're such a dork..."

"Hey, so are you!" Knuckles teased with a grin.

"Well I'm not the one who's giving all those lame lines!" he argued.

"Hey, I'm not good at coming up with that stuff on the spot!" Knuckles replied, pouting cutely. "You gotta give me at least three days notice," he joked.

"You're one to talk!" Sonic said, playfully tapping at Knuckles' chest with the back of his hand. "You confessed without a single notice!"

"W-well, that one wasn't really planned," Knuckles said with a sheepish grin. "It just...kinda slipped out."

"And you expect me to plan everything I say?" Sonic asked with a smirk. "That's rude."

"Nah, you're good at not planning things. It's just me who's not," Knuckles laughed.

Then he stopped suddenly, a thought occuring to him.

"Hey, what ever happened to the other you and the other Sticks?" he wondered. "I haven't seen them since that robot showed up..."

Sonic shrugged. "Not sure. _Buuuut_ …"

He stopped and placed a hand on Knuckles' chest. "I agree; I'm not good at planning."

He grabbed hold of Knuckles' shoulder, pulling him downwards with a confident smirk on his face. "I just _do_."

Sonic leaned forward, giving him a rough kiss.

Knuckles let out a muffled squeak. His face flushed terribly, and he felt an explosion of butterflies in his stomach.

After he had a moment to regain his senses, he kissed back, gently placing his hands on Sonic's shoulders and pulling him even closer.

Sonic's face was flushed, but he wouldn't admit that.

Meanwhile, a blur of blue - Sonic's alternate - hid back behind a bush, his gloved hands going over his muzzle to suppress an excited squeal.

Sticks did her best to suppress a giggle, both because of what they were currently witnessing and her boyfriend's adorable reaction.

Eventually, Sonic and Knuckles had to stop to catch their breath.

"Th-that was...wow..." was all Knuckles could say. His face was all red, but he didn't mind. He'd never felt happier in his life.

Sonic smiled, but realized that he was probably red and went to cover his muzzle with his neckerchief. "That was definitely... something."

"Yeah..." Knuckles said dreamily, still feeling entranced from the experience.

Sonic giggled. "I knew I was awesome, but I didn't know I'd be that awesome of a kisser!"

"Well, now you do," Knuckles said with a wink. "How about me? Was I good too? 'C-cause, well, I've never actually kissed anyone before, so..."

"Could've fooled me!" Sonic admitted. "Besides, I'm sure you'll get some more experience later." He winked.

Knuckles blushed, giggling lightly. "H-hehe, well I'm looking forward to it!" he said, winking back.

As the two returned to Sonic's shack, the alternates were sitting quietly on the floor, playing video games. Sonic thought that they looked suspiciously innocent, but shrugged it off and waved. "Hey!"

As the alternate Sticks turned her attention to him, he gave her a wink.

"Welcome back!" the alternate Sonic exclaimed, waving politely.

Sticks winked back at this dimension's Sonic, smiling knowingly.

"Did you miss us?" Knuckles joked.

"Sure we did!" the alternate Sonic assured. He chuckled sheepishly. "Sticks needs some real competition."

"Team up then! We'll take you!" this dimension's Sonic challenged, pounding his fist into his palm. "Right, Knux?"

Knuckles grinned. "Yeah, bring it on!"

The four all sat down in front of TV together, then began to play.

This dimension's Sonic smiled, then shifted onto Knuckles' lap, knowing he wouldn't mind.

Knuckles blushed, but didn't object. He tried to ignore how fast his heart was beating and focus on the game.

The game was close, but the team of Sonic and Knuckles managed to come out on top.

"Yes!" the winning Sonic gave a smile, then turned. "Way to go, Knux!"

Knuckles smiled back. "We make a pretty awesome team, don't we?" he replied with a wink.

"Yup!"

Sonic smirked, then got up on his knees, giving Knuckles a victory kiss.

His alternate let out a small squeal of delight.

Sticks couldn't help but let out an "awww" at the sight herself.

Knuckles giggled, both at the others' reactions and because of how happy he was. Just earlier today he'd been depressed, thinking Sonic would never love him--but now, here he was, sharing a kiss with him as his boyfriend!

After a moment, the two pulled away, this dimension's Sonic smirking confidently. "You could say we had an enlightening experience during our fight with Eggman."

His alternate giggled. "I can tell! I'm going to miss seeing you two so happy when we're back home!"

"Hey, I'm sure Tails'll perfect his machine before long; you guys could visit whenever you want then!"

"Yeah!" Knuckles agreed. "Promise you guys will come visit sometime?" he asked hopefully, making puppy dog eyes.

"Well, I don't think we could say 'no' to _that_ face!" Sticks laughed.

Her boyfriend laughed along with her, then the four continued playing. Even if it might've been their last game before the two alternates had to return home, they had a feeling it wouldn't be their last forever, so they enjoyed it--along with the victory kisses that came with it.


End file.
